Ok, I just got done replacing the starter contacts on my 99 Land Cruiser the other night, and I thought I'd share some info to others for the future. My car was difficult to start cold. When I turned the key, I would hear the solenoid engage, but the starter would not fire at all. After 2 or 3 turns of the key, the car would eventually start up fine. I read from others on this board that you must act immediately or risk ruining your starter AND your alternator. The contacts cost me $25, so it is very cheap to do this job. It took me and a friend 6½ hours to do this job, but that was mainly because we had no info and we were flying by the seat of our pants. If I had to do it again, it would probably take 3 hours or less.
It helps greatly to have an assistant, though it is not necessary. The intake manifold must be removed to access the starter. You will have to climb up into the engine bay several times, and it helps to have someone to hold the light, hand tools, and to hand that intake manifold off to when you get it off. Sorry I didn't take pics as I went along. Here goes:
Disconnect the negative battery terminal first!
1. Remove the V-Bank cover held in by 4 10mm bolts.
2. Remove the intake assembly. Remove the cover for the air filter held in by snap clips, unscrew the clamps that attach to the throttle body, and the airbox. Unplug the MAS connector at the airbox, and unscrew the 2 10mm bolts that bolt the intake assembly to the passenger side valve cover. You will also have to detach 3 hoses that go to the intake assembly to remove it. You will also want to remove the air filter, so you use the air filter housing to climb into the car.
3. Now take pictures on all sides of your intake manifold (thanks landtank)! This will help as a reference when you want to put everything back together.
4. Disconnect the accelerator cable. You will need a 14 mm open end wrench on one end, and either another 14mm wrench or some pliers to hole the bolt on the other end. Loosen the bolt on one side, and then you can pull the cable up, and slide the cable off of the housing it connects to.
5. Disconnect the throttle body from the intake manifold. It is held in by 2 12mm bolts and 2 12mm nuts. You may have to tap it a little to loosen it from the intake manifold.
6. Now disconnect all of the hoses that attach to the intake manifold. Just look around the manifold and it is readily apparent which ones you will need to disconnect. The only hidden thing to disconnect is a ground wire that bolts to the back of the manifold. This wire is on the drivers side near a coolant pipe. You will also have to unbolt a wiring assembly from the intake manifold.
7. It would be easiest to remove the fuel pressure regulator from the drivers side fuel rail, but I didn't have the right size wrench, so I just disconnected the fuel hose from the fuel filter and took the hose with the manifold. Warning! Fuel will spill!
8. Once all of the hoses are disconnected, remove the bolts that connect the intake manifold to the block. There are 3 bolts on each side, and 2 nuts on each side. There are none in the back to worry about. You will need a long extension, and the bolts are 12mm. You will also need long needlenose pliers (or a magnetic socket) to pull the bolts off, as they are in a tight space.
9. Now pull the intake manifold off. We did it by one of us climbing into the engine bay, pulling it off, and handing it off to the other guy. Cover the holes on the cylinder head, you don't want any bolts or tools to fall in there!!
10. You will now see the starter sitting on the block. It is held in by 2 14mm mounting bolts which face the back of the car. We removed them by climbing into the engine bay, laying down a towel to rest a knee on and unbolted the bolts. The bolt on the left of the starter is visible, and the one on the right is hidden. The one on the right is a bitch to get to. We got it by removing a 10mm bolt that holds some wiring, moved the wires out of the way, and fit a wrench and extension on the 14mm bolt.
11. You will now need to remove the 12mm bolt that holds the yellow wiring harness to the starter. It is on the back side of the starter also. Then unplug the connector, and remove the bolted down ground wire. You should now be able to pull the starter off of the car.
12. Once the starter is off the rest is easy. You can leave the cylindrical portion of the starter alone, you will unbolt the cover on the short side of the starter with 3 (8mm I believe) bolts. Remove the plunger with spring and set it aside. Now you will see the contacts.
13. Using a 14mm socket, unbolt the contacts on each side (one side at a time) and pay CLOSE attention to the order in which everything was installed. I did this easily by keeping everything together and copying. You will probably see that the contacts are worn down from the plunger hitting it over time. The new contacts will look much thicker than the old ones. Make sure to clean out all of the dust in that housing. Also clean the plunger off too. Make sure to install the spring with the plunger when putting it all back together.
14. Installation is the reverse of removal-don't you hate that?
15. When putting the intake manifold back in, we had to remove the passenger side bracket that gets in the way. It was getting late and we were getting impatient. It also helped to remove a bolt that holds wiring together on the back passenger side, near were the last nut holds down the intake manifold. By moving this wiring just a little, we were able to drop the intake manifold right on.
Use your pictures to help you put it all together. Sorry I didn't get pics while I went along, and I'm sure I left something out here, anyone who has done this feel free to add info. I have pics of the starter contacts, and the intake manifold before taking it all apart.
Chris,
Springfield, MO
It helps greatly to have an assistant, though it is not necessary. The intake manifold must be removed to access the starter. You will have to climb up into the engine bay several times, and it helps to have someone to hold the light, hand tools, and to hand that intake manifold off to when you get it off. Sorry I didn't take pics as I went along. Here goes:
Disconnect the negative battery terminal first!
1. Remove the V-Bank cover held in by 4 10mm bolts.
2. Remove the intake assembly. Remove the cover for the air filter held in by snap clips, unscrew the clamps that attach to the throttle body, and the airbox. Unplug the MAS connector at the airbox, and unscrew the 2 10mm bolts that bolt the intake assembly to the passenger side valve cover. You will also have to detach 3 hoses that go to the intake assembly to remove it. You will also want to remove the air filter, so you use the air filter housing to climb into the car.
3. Now take pictures on all sides of your intake manifold (thanks landtank)! This will help as a reference when you want to put everything back together.
4. Disconnect the accelerator cable. You will need a 14 mm open end wrench on one end, and either another 14mm wrench or some pliers to hole the bolt on the other end. Loosen the bolt on one side, and then you can pull the cable up, and slide the cable off of the housing it connects to.
5. Disconnect the throttle body from the intake manifold. It is held in by 2 12mm bolts and 2 12mm nuts. You may have to tap it a little to loosen it from the intake manifold.
6. Now disconnect all of the hoses that attach to the intake manifold. Just look around the manifold and it is readily apparent which ones you will need to disconnect. The only hidden thing to disconnect is a ground wire that bolts to the back of the manifold. This wire is on the drivers side near a coolant pipe. You will also have to unbolt a wiring assembly from the intake manifold.
7. It would be easiest to remove the fuel pressure regulator from the drivers side fuel rail, but I didn't have the right size wrench, so I just disconnected the fuel hose from the fuel filter and took the hose with the manifold. Warning! Fuel will spill!
8. Once all of the hoses are disconnected, remove the bolts that connect the intake manifold to the block. There are 3 bolts on each side, and 2 nuts on each side. There are none in the back to worry about. You will need a long extension, and the bolts are 12mm. You will also need long needlenose pliers (or a magnetic socket) to pull the bolts off, as they are in a tight space.
9. Now pull the intake manifold off. We did it by one of us climbing into the engine bay, pulling it off, and handing it off to the other guy. Cover the holes on the cylinder head, you don't want any bolts or tools to fall in there!!
10. You will now see the starter sitting on the block. It is held in by 2 14mm mounting bolts which face the back of the car. We removed them by climbing into the engine bay, laying down a towel to rest a knee on and unbolted the bolts. The bolt on the left of the starter is visible, and the one on the right is hidden. The one on the right is a bitch to get to. We got it by removing a 10mm bolt that holds some wiring, moved the wires out of the way, and fit a wrench and extension on the 14mm bolt.
11. You will now need to remove the 12mm bolt that holds the yellow wiring harness to the starter. It is on the back side of the starter also. Then unplug the connector, and remove the bolted down ground wire. You should now be able to pull the starter off of the car.
12. Once the starter is off the rest is easy. You can leave the cylindrical portion of the starter alone, you will unbolt the cover on the short side of the starter with 3 (8mm I believe) bolts. Remove the plunger with spring and set it aside. Now you will see the contacts.
13. Using a 14mm socket, unbolt the contacts on each side (one side at a time) and pay CLOSE attention to the order in which everything was installed. I did this easily by keeping everything together and copying. You will probably see that the contacts are worn down from the plunger hitting it over time. The new contacts will look much thicker than the old ones. Make sure to clean out all of the dust in that housing. Also clean the plunger off too. Make sure to install the spring with the plunger when putting it all back together.
14. Installation is the reverse of removal-don't you hate that?
15. When putting the intake manifold back in, we had to remove the passenger side bracket that gets in the way. It was getting late and we were getting impatient. It also helped to remove a bolt that holds wiring together on the back passenger side, near were the last nut holds down the intake manifold. By moving this wiring just a little, we were able to drop the intake manifold right on.
Use your pictures to help you put it all together. Sorry I didn't get pics while I went along, and I'm sure I left something out here, anyone who has done this feel free to add info. I have pics of the starter contacts, and the intake manifold before taking it all apart.
Chris,
Springfield, MO